JAMB Government 1993

37 reviewed questions with answers and explanations.

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Question 1

Political authority refers to the

  1. ability to effect political action
  2. capacity to produce desired political results
  3. capacity to reshape the political behaviour of citizens
  4. recognized right to exercise political power
Answer and explanation

D: recognized right to exercise political power

Authority is power regarded as legitimate: the recognized right to govern or issue binding decisions. The ability to obtain results or compel behaviour alone describes power rather than authority.

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Question 2

The civil service belongs to the organ of government called the

  1. legislature
  2. executive
  3. judiciary
  4. parastatals
Answer and explanation

B: executive

The civil service carries out administration and implements public policy. It therefore forms part of the executive machinery, rather than the legislature or judiciary.

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Question 3

Ultimate power in a confederal state is

  1. concentrated in the central government
  2. constitutionally divided between the centre and the units
  3. exercised by the larger units
  4. vested in the constituent units
Answer and explanation

D: vested in the constituent units

The constituent states of a confederation retain ultimate sovereignty. The common central body exercises only the functions that those states agree to delegate.

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Question 4

Federalism is a constitutional arrangement in which

  1. the national and regional governments derive their power from the constitution
  2. the national government acts only through the regional governments
  3. regional and local authorities exist at the pleasure of national government
  4. the national government does not reach individual citizens directly
Answer and explanation

A: the national and regional governments derive their power from the constitution

In a federation, the constitution gives the national and regional governments their respective powers. Regional authority is not merely a temporary concession from the national government.

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Question 7

As a political ideology, communism seeks to

  1. concentrate national wealth in the hands of a few
  2. abolish collective ownership of property
  3. provide adequate opportunities for citizens to make profits
  4. eliminate all forms of socio-economic inequality
Answer and explanation

D: eliminate all forms of socio-economic inequality

Communism aims at a classless society with common ownership of productive resources. Its stated goal is the removal of socio-economic class inequalities, rather than concentrating wealth in private hands.

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Question 8

Despite the doctrine of separation of powers, the legislature plays quasi-judicial role as a result of its

  1. investigative powers
  2. financial powers
  3. emergency power
  4. appropriation powers
Answer and explanation

A: investigative powers

Legislative investigations can involve receiving evidence, questioning witnesses and determining facts. These resemble judicial inquiry and explain the description quasi-judicial, without making the legislature an ordinary court.

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Question 9

Nazism as a doctrine was proposed by

  1. Benito Mussolini
  2. Adolf Hitler
  3. Karl Marx
  4. Josef Stalin
Answer and explanation

B: Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler formulated and promoted Nazi ideology, including its racist and authoritarian doctrines. Mussolini was associated with Italian Fascism, while Marx and Stalin were associated with communist movements.

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Question 10

In the Westminster system of government formal legislation can take the following forms EXCEPT

  1. royal proclamations
  2. orders in council
  3. act of parliament
  4. ministerial pronouncement
Answer and explanation

D: ministerial pronouncement

A ministerial pronouncement is not, merely by being announced, formal legislation. Acts, orders in council and authorized royal proclamations can have legal force through recognized constitutional procedures.

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Question 11

In the presidential system of government, the president is

  1. elected only through the electoral college
  2. empowered to dissolve the legislature
  3. head of state and head of government
  4. vested with absolute powers
Answer and explanation

C: head of state and head of government

A president in the presidential model combines the offices of head of state and head of government. The office is constitutionally limited rather than endowed with absolute power.

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Question 12

Delegated legislation is disadvantageous because it

  1. erodes the principle of separation of powers
  2. make hasty review of legislation possible
  3. disallows quick action during emergencies
  4. increases the work of the legislature
Answer and explanation

A: erodes the principle of separation of powers

Delegated legislation allows executive bodies to make rules under legislative authority. A common criticism is that this reduces the practical separation between making and administering laws.

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Question 13

The principle of the rule of law stipulates that

  1. only judges interpret the law
  2. law makers are above the law
  3. everyone is equal before the law
  4. lawyers make laws
Answer and explanation

C: everyone is equal before the law

Equality before the law is a core rule-of-law principle. Lawmakers and other officials remain legally accountable rather than being inherently above the law.

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Question 14

Gerrymandering means

  1. the second ballot system
  2. single transferable vote
  3. the manipulation of constituency boundaries
  4. the tyranny of the majority
Answer and explanation

C: the manipulation of constituency boundaries

Gerrymandering manipulates constituency boundaries to obtain political advantage. It is different from voting methods such as the single transferable vote.

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Question 15

Another term for an electoral district is a

  1. ward
  2. local government area
  3. politically demarcated area
  4. constituency
Answer and explanation

D: constituency

A constituency is an electoral district whose voters choose one or more representatives. Its boundaries define the population represented by the elected office-holder.

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Question 16

Franchise ensures

  1. participation in public affairs
  2. classless democratic system
  3. the emergence of ideal leadership
  4. equal representation
Answer and explanation

A: participation in public affairs

The franchise provides a right to participate in public affairs through voting. It does not by itself guarantee ideal leaders, a classless society or equal representation of every group.

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Question 17

Free and fair elections do NOT accommodate

  1. obedience to the rules of the game
  2. equality of all votes
  3. freedom of choice by voters
  4. partial electoral administration
Answer and explanation

D: partial electoral administration

An election administrator must act impartially. Partial administration favours a contestant and undermines equal treatment, unlike respect for rules and freedom of choice.

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Question 18

Proportional representation is often criticized because it

  1. tends to preserve the multi-party system
  2. is too simple to operate
  3. ensures that each party has minister
  4. provides that each state represented according to its population
Answer and explanation

A: tends to preserve the multi-party system

Critics argue that proportional representation can preserve many parties and make coalition bargaining more likely. Supporters value the same feature because it gives smaller parties representation.

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Question 19

Interest groups are important to democracies because they

  1. represent the masses
  2. do not allow misrule
  3. represent groups who otherwise would be left out
  4. provide a forum for confronting the government
Answer and explanation

C: represent groups who otherwise would be left out

Interest groups can give organized representation to people or causes that might otherwise be overlooked. Their contribution does not guarantee the prevention of every abuse of government.

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Question 22

Which of these sets represents the disadvantages of colonialism?

  1. exposure to western education, cultural imperialism and external trade relations
  2. cultural imperialism, external manipulation and foreign control of the domestic economy
  3. external manipulation, civil service evolution and liberal democracy
  4. liberal democracy, foreign domination and cultural imperialism
Answer and explanation

B: cultural imperialism, external manipulation and foreign control of the domestic economy

Cultural domination, external manipulation and foreign control of the economy describe losses of autonomy associated with colonialism. The other sets include institutions or contacts that are not inherently disadvantages.

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Question 23

Imperialism was adopted by Europe to

  1. expand its economic and political base
  2. develop the economies of the colonies
  3. establish a democratic society similar to that of Europe
  4. end ethnic rivalries in the colonies
Answer and explanation

A: expand its economic and political base

Imperialism extends a state’s power and influence over other territories. Economic access and political control are central features of that expansion, unlike a guarantee of democracy for conquered peoples.

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Question 24

The Lagos Colony and the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria were joined in the year

  1. 1904
  2. 1906
  3. 1910
  4. 1914
Answer and explanation

B: 1906

Lagos Colony was joined with Southern Nigeria in 1906. This preceded the later 1914 amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria.

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Question 28

The 1960 independence Constitution could be described as written

  1. monarchical and parliamentary
  2. republican and parliamentary
  3. monarchical and presidential
  4. federal and republican
Answer and explanation

A: monarchical and parliamentary

The independence constitution retained the monarch as head of state and a prime minister heading a parliamentary government. Nigeria became a republic in 1963.

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Question 29

The Governor-General of Nigeria at the time of independence was

  1. Lord Frederick Lugard
  2. Sir John Macpherson
  3. Sir. Arthur Richards
  4. Sir James Robertson
Answer and explanation

D: Sir James Robertson

Sir James Robertson was Governor-General when Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960. Nnamdi Azikiwe succeeded him in that office later in the same year.

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Question 30

Before the collapse of Nigeria's First Republic in 1966, the prime minister was both

  1. the head of government and a law maker
  2. the head of state and commander in-chief of the armed forces
  3. commander in - chief of the armed forces and party leader
  4. head of state and party leader
Answer and explanation

A: the head of government and a law maker

The prime minister headed the government and was also a member of the legislature in the parliamentary system. The ceremonial head-of-state office was separate.

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Question 31

In Nigeria, the function of the Council of State is

  1. judicial
  2. investigative
  3. legislative
  4. advisory
Answer and explanation

D: advisory

The Council of State advises on specified public matters. It is not a legislative chamber or a court and does not replace those institutions' constitutional powers.

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Question 32

Under the military administration, supreme court decisions are subject to review by

  1. Sharia Court of Appeal
  2. no other court of law
  3. Federal Court of Appeal
  4. Judicial tribunals
Answer and explanation

B: no other court of law

The Supreme Court is the final court in the judicial hierarchy, so no other court hears an appeal from it. This is distinct from a court's limited ability to revisit its own decisions.

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Question 34

Which of the following was an ad hoc Revenue Allocation Commission?

  1. Ashby Commission
  2. Adedeji Commission
  3. Udoji Commission
  4. Phillipson Commission
Answer and explanation

D: Phillipson Commission

The Phillipson Commission was one of the temporary commissions on revenue allocation. Its work concerned sharing revenues rather than university education or general public-service reform.

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Question 36

In Nigeria, public corporations are also known as

  1. multinational corporations
  2. private enterprises
  3. parastatals
  4. co-operative societies
Answer and explanation

C: parastatals

Public corporations are commonly described as parastatals because they operate as government-established bodies outside ordinary ministries. Their public ownership distinguishes them from private enterprises and cooperatives.

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Question 38

The local government is an example of

  1. concentration of power
  2. separation of power
  3. devolution of power
  4. delegation of power
Answer and explanation

C: devolution of power

Local government illustrates devolution when legally defined responsibilities are transferred to local authorities. Those authorities exercise powers for their communities rather than merely acting as field offices of the centre.

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Question 39

The body responsible for exercising the functions of local governments in the 1976 reforms was the

  1. local government commission
  2. local government council
  3. local government committee
  4. committee of chairmen and supervisory councillors
Answer and explanation

B: local government council

The local government council is the body responsible for carrying out the local authority's assigned functions. Service commissions and committees have narrower personnel or supporting roles.

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Question 41

Nigeria's relations with other nations are guided by her

  1. political culture
  2. political socialization
  3. national interest
  4. national consciousness
Answer and explanation

C: national interest

National interest guides foreign-policy choices and relationships with other states. It includes the country's security, economic and political objectives rather than political socialization alone.

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Question 43

The major organization through which Nigeria, pursues her economic, political and social interests' in West Africa is

  1. ECOWAS
  2. ADB
  3. EGA
  4. OAU
Answer and explanation

A: ECOWAS

ECOWAS is the West African regional community through which Nigeria cooperates with neighbouring states on economic integration and related political and social matters. The other listed bodies have different geographical or institutional mandates.

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Question 45

The highest policy-making body of the OAU was the

  1. Economic and Social Commission
  2. Council of Ministers
  3. General Secretariat
  4. Assembly of Heads of State and Government
Answer and explanation

D: Assembly of Heads of State and Government

The Assembly of Heads of State and Government was the OAU's supreme organ. The Council of Ministers and General Secretariat supported policy and administration within that wider structure.

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Question 46

To Which of these bodies did Nigeria belong before the formation of the OAU in 1963?

  1. Casablanca Group
  2. Monrovia Group
  3. African and Malagasy Union
  4. Pan African Union
Answer and explanation

B: Monrovia Group

Nigeria participated in the Monrovia grouping before the formation of the OAU. Its preference was for cooperation among sovereign African states rather than immediate political federation.

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Question 47

Who was the first Nigerian to be appointed President of the International Court of Justice at the Hague?

  1. Justice Taslim Elias
  2. Justice Bola Ajibola
  3. Justice Daddy Onyeama
  4. Justice Danley Alexander
Answer and explanation

A: Justice Taslim Elias

Taslim Olawale Elias became President of the International Court of Justice in 1982. He was the first Nigerian to hold that presidency.

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Question 48

An agency of the United Nations which specializes in the welfare of children is the

  1. WHO
  2. UNESCO
  3. UNICEF
  4. UNDP
Answer and explanation

C: UNICEF

UNICEF works for children's rights, survival and development. WHO focuses on health more broadly, UNESCO on education and culture, and UNDP on development programmes.

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Question 49

Financial contributions to the liberation movements in Southern Africa by African governments were channelled through the

  1. EGA
  2. ECOWAS
  3. OAU
  4. UNO
Answer and explanation

C: OAU

The OAU's liberation machinery coordinated African governmental support for Southern African liberation movements. This role differed from the regional economic focus of ECOWAS and the ECA.

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Question 50

Immediately before the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, which countries held permanent-member veto power in the UN Security Council?

  1. France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy and Japan
  2. Japan, the United States, Italy, Germany and France
  3. the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, Great Britain, France and the United States
  4. Italy, the United States, the Soviet Union, Germany and France
Answer and explanation

C: the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, Great Britain, France and the United States

The permanent members then were the Soviet Union, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Russia continued the Soviet seat after dissolution; Germany, Italy and Japan did not hold permanent seats.

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